Printing



L. J. VVELCH June 2%, 11934.

PRINTING Filed April 6, 1954 I zau d'e J I VeZch INVENTOR.

BY 7 P TM HIS ATTORNEYS Patented June 26, 1934 PRINTING Lourde J. Welch, Chicago, Ill. Application April 6, 1934, Serial No. 719,319

Claims.

This invention relates to printing.

Heretofore in the art of printing by means of small printing presses, such as proof presses and the like, it has been the customary practice to 5 look the type up in a chase so as to hold the type in printing position during the printing operation. This method is slow and requires a considerable amount of time and labor, especially when practiced by persons who have no particular skill in the art of printing and who have a minimum amount of time to devote to whatever printing they may have to do. Thus, for example, merchants having small stores, persons conducting small moving picture houses, etc., have a considerable amount of printing to do in connection with signs, posters, flash cards, etc., but they usually have only a small amount of time to do this work, and rather than do it themselves and expend the time and labor involved in locking up the type in a chase, they customarily send it out to a job printer.

The present invention has for one of its objects the provision of a time and labor saving printing unit, especially adapted for use by persons such as for example, those mentioned above, and by means of which a plurality of individual type may be adhesively held in printing position upon a supporting base, such as a chase or tray, and against shifting movement during the printing 3O operation; the said type being readily removable from the said supporting base after the completion of the printing operation.

The present invention, broadly considered, contemplates the provision of a printing unit comprising the following combination, hereinafter described and claimed, namely: a supporting base; a coating of adhesive or tacky material upon the upper surface of said base, and a plurality of individual type or printing bodies arranged upon the said adhesive coating and adhesively held thereby in printing position and against shifting movement during the printing operation; the said adhesive coating having sufiicient consistency and adhesiveness or tackiness to hold the type in printing position thereon and against movement therewith or thereover during the printing operation, but permitting the type to be readily removed from the adhesive coating after the printing operation.

Another object of the invention is to construct the new printing unit in such'a manner that in its use the type themselves do not become sticky by contact with the adhesive coating or cause the hands of the operator to become soiled and sticky by contact with the type during the operation of placing the type upon the adhesive coating and removing them therefrom.

It is, of course, true that in the prior art of printing, duplicating and analogous arts, there will be found previous uses of adhesive coatings such as, for example that disclosed in the McGovern Patent No. 843,483, wherein there is disclosed a photo-engraving unit which consists of a supporting base; a layer of gelatin laid upon the said base; and a metallic photo-engraving plate ar ranged upon the said gelatin sheet coextensive therewith and adhesively and permanently secured thereby to the supporting base.

In the McGovern patent, however, and the same is considered fairly well representative of the prior art, there is no suggestion'of the present invention since in the McGovern patent the metallic photo-engraving plate is permanently secured, by the adhesive coating, to the supporting base, whereas the present invention is concerned particularly with the use of fiat, shallow rubber type, shall be held in printing position by the adhesive coating, and against shifting movement, during the printing operation, but shall be readily removable from the adhesive coating after the printing operation. There is no suggestion of this in the McGovern patent, and the same may be said of the other prior art patents which embrace the arts of printing, duplicating and allied arts. And, in this connection, with reference to the art of gelatin sheet duplicating, it may be said that the same does not contemplate the present invention because the art of gelatin sheet duplicating, like the McGovern patent, is concerned with holding a single impression-receiving paper sheet, which is substantially coextensive with the gelatin sheet, in duplicating position upon the gelatin sheet during the duplicating operation, whereas the present invention is concerned with holding a plurality of individual fiat, shallow type, and particularly rubber type, in printing position during the printing operation, and so that they may be readily removed therefrom after the printing operation. Moreover, as will be explained more fully hereinafter the fiat, shallow rubber type in the present invention cannot be held in printing position by means of the ordinary soft gelatin used in gelatin sheet duplicating, since if such soft gelatin is used the type will shift laterally during the printing operation with the underlying gelatin to which they are adhered and cause a blurred or faulty image thereof to be reproduced therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide the printing unit hereinafter described and claimed.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, showing the preferred form of construction and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a typical printing press in conjunction with which the present invention may be used; 1

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the new printing unit.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view, on line 3-3 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the new printing unit shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

' The present invention is not limited to use with any particular type or style of printing press. However, for the purpose of illustrating one manner of practicing and using the invention, the same is shown as being used in conjunction with the printing press described and claimed in U. S. Patent No. 1,924,288, granted to Harvey J. Reardon on August 29, 1933, for a printing press.

The aforementioned Reardon printing press is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing and is therein generally indicated at 10. This press is of the bed and cylinder type and comprises, in general, the hereinafter named parts, reference being bad to Patent No. 1,924,288-for a further and more specific description of the same: a bed or plate 11 having parallel trackways 12 at the sides thereof, each including a horizontal wall 13 and a vertical wall 14; an impression roll carriage 15 movable over the bed 11 and including an impression-transmitting roll or cylinder 16; the said carriage 15 having vertical rollers 17 which are movable over the horizontal walls 13 of the trackways 12, and horizontal rollers 18 which are movable along the vertical walls 14 of the trackways 12, so as to guide the impression-roller carriage 15 during the printing operation.

A preferred form of the new printing unit is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, is therein generally indicated at 19, and comprises a type bed which includes a supporting base in the form of a chase or tray 20 which has a relatively flat bottom 21 and an upstanding, vertical marginal side wall or flange 22 extending around the bottom or base 21 of the tray or chase 20.

In manufacturing the new printing unit 19, there is preferably, but not necessarily, provided on the upper surface of the bottom 21 of the chase or tray 20 a layer or sub-coating 23 of a light-reflective, and preferably, white enamel; and a series of coorthogonal gauge or guide lines 24 is inscribed upon the enamel coating 23 to facilitate the arrangement and alignment of the type in printing position, as will be explained more fully hereinafter. A coating of shellac is provided over the upper surface of the enamel sub-coating 23 after the guide lines 24 are inserted thereon.

A layer or coating 25 of a transparent adhesive or tacky material is then spread upon the enamel sub-coating 23. For this purpose a suitable transparent adhesive may be made by mixing gelatin and glycerine, within the range of proportion, by weight, of approximately one part of gelatin to from five to nine parts of glycerine; a small amount of water being added to the mixture to soften the gelatin, and the mixture thus made being heated to drive off excess moisture, whereupon the mixture thus prepared and treated is poured into the tray or chase 20 so as to form the transparent adhesive layer or coating 25 over the enamel sub-coating 23. At this point it should be noted that the aforementioned range of proportions between the gelatin and the glycerine is quite critical because if departed from one way or the other the resulting mixture is apt to be either so hard that it lacks sufficient adhesiveness or tackiness to hold the type in position and against shifting thereove'r. during the printing operation, or so soft that the pressure of the impression roll during the printing operation will cause the type to shift with the underlying gelatin and thereby in either event produce a blurred or indistinct image on the impression receiving sheet.

The new printing unit 19 is then completed by arranging thereon in printing position, a type or printing body 26 or plurality of the same; the arrangement of the type 26 being facilitated by the gauge or guide lines 24 which are readily visible through the transparent gelatin adhesive coating 25; the visibility of these lines, which are preferably black, being increased by the lightrefiective property and contrasting color of the vitreous sub-coating 23.

The printing unit 19 thus completed may then be placed upon the bed 11 of the press 10, or upon the bed of any other printing press with which it may be used, whereupon an impressionreceiving sheet of paper 2'7 or the like may be laid upon the printing faces of the type 26 and the impression-roll carriage 15 run over the bed 11 and impression-receiving sheet 2''! to exert a downward pressure on the sheet and thus complete the printing operation.

The adhesive coating or layer 25 has sufiicient adhesiveness or tackiness to hold the type 26 in printing position. during the printing operation, but at the same time, being relatively'hard and dry, it permits the type 26 to be readily removed therefrom after the completion of the printing operation without causing the type or the operators hands to become soiled and sticky by reason of contact therewith:

The proper degree of adhesiveness or tackiness is a matter of great importance in the new printing unit 19, because of the fact that if the adhesive coating 25 is too soft, the downward pressure of the impression roll 16 upon the impressionreceiving sheet 27 and the underlying type 26, during the printing operation, will cause the type 26 and those portions of the adhesive coating 25 underlying and supporting the type 26', to shift or creep in the direction of travel of the carriage 15 and thus produce a blurred and indistinct image of the type upon the impressionreceiving sheet 27; whereas if the adhesive coating 25 is too hard, it will lack sufiicient adhesiveness to prevent the type 26 from shifting thereover, in the direction of travel of the carriage 15 during the printing operation, so that in either event a blurred and indistinct image of the type will be reproduced upon the impressionreceiving sheet 2'7.

While the preferred composition of the adhesive coating 25 has been set forth hereintofore as being a gelatin-glycerin mixture, in the proportions specified, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of the particular adhesive coating hereinbefore set forth, but on the contrary, contemplates and includes and the generic term adhesive coating as used hereinafter in the claims includes any adhesive coating or layer which has sufficient adhesiveness or tackiness to hold the type in printing positions, and against shifting movement therewith or thereover during the printing operation, while permitting the type to be readily removed from the adhesive coating after the completion of the printing operation.

The type 26 embodied in the new printing unit 19 are preferably flat, shallow rubber type less than type high (0.918 inch) since these shallow type will not tip over sidewise when the impression roll is run thereover as higher type have a tendency to do, if there happen to be only two or three type, for example, in a line, However, the term type and equivalent expressions as used hereinbefore and as used here inafter in the claims, is to be understood as including not only rubber type but metal type, wooden type or other equivalent printing or impression transferring bodies which may be held in printing position by the adhesive coating 25, during the printing operation, but which may be readily removed therefrom after the completion of the printing operation. However, in this connection, it should be here noted that the new printing unit 19 especially contemplates that the type therein embodied shall be relatively flat, shallow rubber type since these are especially adapted for use in the new printing unit, for printing signs, hand bills, posters, flat cards, and the like; rubber type adhere to the adhesive better than metal or wood type, and they do not cut through, or sink down into the adhesive layer or coating 25 as Wood and metal type have a tendency to do, under the pressure of the impressive roll 16 during the printing operation.

While the sub-coating or layer 23 has been set forth as being composed of a light-reflective enamel, other vitreous materials may be used in place of enamel, and in fact the sub-coating 25 may be made of any other material which is impervious to the action of the adhesive coating thereover, which is permanent and not fragile or subject to cracking; which is capable of having the gauge lines 24 inscribed thereon; and which is highly light-reflective so that the gauge lines 24 will be readily visible thereon through the transparent adhesive coating 25. The term sub-coating or analogous expressions, used hereinafter in the claimsinreference to the enamel coating 23 are therefore so to be construed.

In practicing and commercializing the present invention, it is contemplated that the chase 20 having the adhesive coating 25 spread on the bottom 21 thereof will be sold as a unit with a plurality of flat, shallow rubber type 26 and that after the adhesive coating 25 has become too dry and has deteriorated by reason of age, the chase 20 having the adhesive coating 25 there'n may be returned to the manufacturer or distributor who will thereupon melt up the gelatin 25 and replace the same by repouring a new gelatin coating 25 into the chase 20, whereupon the latter may be returned to the user. However, as the gelatin sheet 25 tends to become too dry with age, its adhesiveness may be tempo-' rarily restored by rubbing a wet cloth or sponge over it.

During the operation of melting up the used gelatin sheet 25, which may be done by immersing the chase in warm water, the shellac coating over the enamel sub-coating 23, being water resistant, protects the enamel sub-coating 23 and the guide lines 24 inscribed thereon from damage by the Warm water bath employed in removing the used gelatin sheet 25.

It is to be noted that the gelatin adhesive layer or coating 25 is resilient and has the property of restoring itself after distortion by the pressure of the impression roll or cylinder 16 upon the rubber type 26 during the printing operation so that it may be used repeatedly, thus differing from wax or paraifin or other non-resilient adhesive materials which, when once indented or distorted by the pressure of the impression roll upon wood or metal type arranged thereon, during the printing operation, are unable to restore themselves against such distortion which remains, therefore, permanent.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and'desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A printing unit, comprising: a supporting base; a sub-coating of light-reflective, vitreous material arranged upon the said base and having guide lines inscribed thereon; a coating of transparent gelatin arranged over the said sub-coating; rubber printing type arranged upon and adhered to said gelatin coating; said gelatin coating having sufficient consistency and adhesiveness or tackiness to hold said type in printing position thereon and against movement during the printing operation while permitting the said type to be readily removed therefrom after the completion of the printing operation.

2. A printing unit, comprising; a supporting base; a sub-coating of lightreflective, vitreous material arranged upon the said base and having guide lines inscribed thereon; a'coating of transparent gelatin arranged over the said sub-coating; and rubber printing type arranged upon and adhered to said gelatin coating; said gelatin coating having suflicient consistency and adhesiveness or tackiness to hold said type in printing position thereon and against movement during the printing operation while permitting the said type to be readily removed therefrom after the completion of the printing operation.

3. A printing unit, comprising: a supporting base; a layer of gelatin spread upon said base: and rubber printing type arranged upon said gelatin layer and adhesively held thereby in printing position; said gelatin having sufiicient consistency and adhesiveness or tackiness to hold said rubber type in printing position thereon and against movement during the printing operation.

4. A printing unit, comprising the combination of: a chase having a relatively flat bottom; a

layer of gelatin spread upon the said bottom of said chase; and relatively fiat, shallow rubber type arranged upon said gelatin layer and adhesively held thereby in printing position.

5. A printing unit particularly adapted for use in conjunction with printing presses of the bed and pressure cylinder type and comprising: a supporting base having a coating of resilient adhesive material thereon; and relatively fiat, shallow, and yieldable or compressible rubber printing type arranged upon said adhesive coating and held only by the latter in printing position; said rubber type being yieldable or compressible under the pressure exerted thereon by the said pressure cylinder during the printing operation, thereby minimizing the extent to which said position upon said adhesive coating and against type distort the said resilient adhesive coating movement during the printing operation, while under the pressure incident to the printing operpermitting the said type to be readily removed ation; the said adhesive coating being of such a from said adhesive coating after the printing 5 nature that there is a strong natural adhesive operation.

aflinity between the same and the said rubber LOURDE J. WELCH. type whereby the said type are held in printing so; 13s

DHSOLAIMER 1,964,236.--L0urde J. Welsh, Chicago, Ill. PRINTING. Patent dated June 26, 1934. Disclaimer filed May 11, 1939, by the assignee, The Classroom Teacher, Inc.

. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 3, 4, and 5 in said specification.

[Ofiicial Gazette May 80, 1.939.] 

